Tara & Dave

I love Fall

2011-10-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

My favorite online shopping website is modcloth.com. A few weeks ago I found this scarf:

It's so cute, but it costs a whopping $49.99! I would never spend that much money on a scarf. I took a good look at the pictures and thought, "Hmm, I could make this scarf myself." So I did.

I went to JoAnn Fabrics and picked up gray wool yarn and a mustard yellow yarn for the flower. I started it last night. I found a video tutorial on YouTube that taught me how to crochet a flower, which was super easy and fun. I might have found a new hobby. Then I got to work on braiding the gray yarn. I quickly learned that braiding 30ft of yarn posed quite the challenge. It kept getting tangled every 30 seconds! About 2 hours of struggling and a night of sleep, I figured out how to make it a little easier. I balled up the ends of each braid strand to prevent tangling along the whole string. Here's the final product:

Our First Plant!!!

2011-06-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

In the almost four years of marriage, Dave and I have never owned a plant; an actually living, real, plant. So today after our softball game we went to Ikea, because we needed to buy a new lamp. One of the lamps in our living room died and it was too dark in one of our corners. We found a lamp and you know Ikea, it just sucks you in. So we also bought two new drinking glasses, a wine glass and the newest member to our familiy, Mr. Plant. He's called a corn plant and I really hope he doesn't die. We'll see what happens.

Hawaiian Vacation

2011-06-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

On July 4th, 2008 I met an amazing girl named Lehua Kamakawiwoole at a picnic in Rose Bowl Park to watch the fireworks. On May 29,2010 I watched her and my friend David Faulkner get married in Hawaii!

I flew out to Oahu, Hawaii on May 27th. My friends Erin and Jenny had flown out the previous day and I met them for lunch and drinks. We went to Lehua's bachelorette party that night at a restaurant with her bridesmaids and other ladies involved in the wedding.

On Saturday we woke up early and went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was a little cloudy and cold at first, but the sun eventually came out. The snorkeling was really cool and we saw tons of awesoem fish! That night we went to one of Lehua's Aunts and Uncles houses for an authentic Hawaiian luau. They had a pig burried in the ground and everything. We tried a whole bunch of Hawaiian food that was incredibly tasty. There was plenty of story telling and toasts and the night ended with singing and ukulele playing.

Sunday was the big day. The wedding was so beautiful! It was held outside and on one side we had the beautiful mountains and on the other side was the beach and ocean. Lehua looked amazing in her custom made gown. David looked so happy and in love. Of course I cried here and there. They had written their own vows that were just beautiful. Everything turned out perfectly. The reception was in the same place as the ceremony and we had an amazing omlette bar and waffle station as our meal. It was a great wedding and I'm so glad I go to be there and share that day with them!

On Monday we went to the north shore and layed out on a beautiful beach. I also did a little snorkeling at Shark's Cove. We stopped at a local taco stand along the road on our way back. It was oh so delicious. Then we had to get back to bring Jenny to the airport.

It was now just me and Erin. We had the priviledge of having breakfast with the bride and groom before they flew off tot he Big Island for their honeymoon. After that we went on the Manoa Falls hike. It was so lush and gorgious. Everything was so green and full and beautiful. The waterfall was awesome. Although it started raining right when we go there. It was a slippery and muddy hike back.

On Wednesday we first headed to the Punchbowl Cemetary. Mom my had told me that her great Grandpa's Uncle was burried there (I think that's who, not sure though). I looked up his name and was actually able to find his grave. From there we headed to the Honolulu Chinatown. It wasn't that great though. Nothing compared to Hong Kong. We found a beach by Honolulu, layed out and took pictures. Ering flew home that night.

And then there was one. I got up early on Thursday to get a good start to my day. I first stopped at Pearl Harbor to do the USS Arizona memorial. I go there at 7:30 but the free tour ticket didn't start until 9:30, so I had to hang around until then. They had a couple museums I could check out. The memorial was really interesting to see. It was crazy to see parts of the ship still sticking out of the water. After Pearl Harbor I drove along the west coast until I couldn't go any farther. I found a nice, almost secluded beach and caught some rays. I fell asleep a few times and stayed a little longer than I intended. From there I went to the Dole Plantation. It was fun to learn a few random facts about pineapples. I went back to the condo and did some souvenir shopping around the area. I watched the sunset one last time on the beach and then headed to the airport that night to fly back to the mainland.

It was such a fun trip. I felt really bad that Dave couldn't come, so I tried to have as much fun for him as I could. :)

Tara's Tale

2011-05-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Where to begin?

~~Once upon a time...~~

~~It was a dark and scary night...~~

Back in February I submitted myself for a background role through Central Casting. The casting was looking for 18tly (people who are over 18 but look like they can play younger, 18 To Look Younger) to play interns on a new movie with the code name "Fiona's Tale." We would need to be available on February 16 and 17 to work in LA. Then we would also need to be available to possibly work on April 29, 30, and May 1 in NEW YORK CITY! What a cool opportunity! I submitted and hoped for the best. About two weeks later, I got a call from Central Casting saying I had been picked by the director to play one of the interns. Yay!

The work days in February were fun. We actually worked 4 days, which was nice to get some SAG work. Some of the days were long and a couple were short. There were 19 interns total. We were pre-fit for costumes and could only wear clothes from production in case we weren't chosen to go to New York. That way we wouldn't be wearing something on screen that someone in New York wouldn't be able to replicate. After we worked the four days, we still were not told who was going to New York. We just had to wait it out.

Finally, two weeks before they flew out to New York, I got the call from Central Casting saying I had been one of the few people to go to NY! Apparently I was the only girl chosen. It was me and 4 other boys.

The flight out was amazing. I think there is something in the SAG contract that requires them to do this because I got to fly first class! There were two non-union boys that had to sit in coach. I felt bad for them, but not bad enough to give them my seat in first. They fed us an amazing breakfast and the seats were so awesome! I could get used to this.

We arrived around 3:30 and grabbed a taxi to the hotel. We saw Andrew Garfield in the elevator on our way to our rooms, which by the way, we all got our own rooms, even the boys. We all left thinking we'd grab a bite to eat and go do something, but the boys were so slow and indecicive that I had to split from the group. Me trying to shop with 5 boys just doesn't work. I said my goodbyes and was on my way.

I first went to Saks Fifth Avenue and looked at all the beautiful clothes and accessories that were way too expensive for me. I had planned on buying lots of fun things in NY but not blowing it all and then some on one item. I moved on. I walked around and it was getting late, so all the shops were closing. I decided to check out some of the sites.

I swung by the New York Public Library and Grand Central Station and picked up a pretzel from a street vendor along the way. Then I hopped on the subway and walked to the MoMA. It was Friday night and they have a "Target Free Friday Night" where theres free admission from 4pm-8pm. I spend the rest of my night looking at Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Picasso, Van Gogh and other great artists. I also did a quick walk to Times Square by myself. Erin arrived that night and stayed with me.

Saturday we worked. We met in the lobby at 5am and shuttled to the shooting location. We worked at the Hearst Building which is really cool looking. It was a full day of work, I think we finished around 7pm. The Erin, the boys and myself went to the Brooklyn Diner for dinner. It was so good! I got their famous Mac & Cheese and it was incredible. So cheesy. In a good way.

Sunday we had the day off. Erin and I took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry and rode that for free. Saw the Statue of Liberty from the ferry. From there we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, the long way. We had walked along the water, thinking that's where the bridge started. Wrong. It starts inland quite a ways, so we had to backtrack inland to get to the pedestrian path. Then we walked around everywhere and did a whole bunch of shopping. I found some really cute shoes. We had dinner at Benihanas with the boys again.

That night I was getting really sad that I had to leave so early on Monday. So I went online to see if and how much it would cost to change my flight to a later time. I knew that a couple of the guys had asked production to push their depature days so they could stay in NY a little longer. I went online and was able to change my flight for free since it was a first class/elite ticket. I now got to leave at 6pm instead of 10am. Woot!

Erin and I took advantage of the extra time to squeeze in some more shopping before I left. I found a cute red bow belt and a couple things from vintage and thrift stores. All in all, it was a successful shopping excursion. I flew home in first class one last time and had an amazing sirloin steak dinner on the flight. It was such an awesome trip.

And one huge bonus of the trip, was I got to fly to New York City for free in first class and get paid to do it. Monday was a travel day, so we got paid for that. Saturday we worked, so we got paid for that. Sunday was a free day, but they still paid us. And Sunday was a travel day, so we got paid for that. Plus we got a $75 per diem every day for meals. I have a feeling I probably won't get another opportunity like that in a long while!

If you want to see my photos you can go to this Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.529013831364.2026465.148300522&l=65a2aca93f

Oh yeah, I can't technically say what movie it is, but "Fiona's Tale" has Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield in it, his character is a superhero and flies with webs. (wink wink)

Archery - Lord of the Rings Style

2011-01-31T17:21:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning Dave and I woke up bright and early and went to a free archery class in Pasadena. We wrote our name on the list and hoped to get in the class. We were the last two people let in. About 10 people were turned away.

We were separated into a group of 6 people and an instructor. We were given a bow, 4 arrows, an arm guard and finger guard. The instructor showed us the basics and let us go to it. We shot from 10 yards away from the target.

Dave had some archery experience before and was pretty good from the get go. He was getting a lot of bullseyes. There was another boy in our group who was really good too. I started out ok. Not as bad as the girl beside me who shot arrows into the grass past the target.

Towards the end I was getting a lot better. Here was my first bullseye. It's considered a bullseye if you hit any of the center black circle.

On our last round of shooting in our small group, Dave and I made a bet. Who could get the most bullseyes. I won! I got three bullseyes.

After our small groups we went back to the main archery field. They always have a contest for the first timers. They put a balloon in the middle of the target and whoever pops it, gets the dollar inside.

So all the first times lined up. I bet there were about 50 or so of us. We were counted off, 1 or 2. Dave was 1. I was 2. The twos had to step back and the ones lined up 10 ft away from the targets. There were 6 different targets with maybe 3 or 4 people shooting at a target. You only got two arrows to try and hit the balloon. Dave was super close but didn't pop one.

My turn. It was me and three other people shooting at one target. Two boys and two girls. I saw one arrow fly and miss. Another arrow was shot and missed. I brought my first arrow up, took aim, and POP! I hit it right in the center! I won the $1. I felt pretty good since I was one of very few girls to win.

I had only done archery once way back in grade school. I had heard about this place and thought we should check it out. We had such a fun time and did well for our first time. I'm hoping to go back again this next Saturday. It'll cost $5 but I'll be worth it!

Midnight Ridazz

2011-01-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

On Friday night I went on the Midnight Ridazz Critical Mass ride with Dave and our friend Jonathan. Every last Friday of the month they hold a massive bike ride somehwere around LA. For this ride we started at Wilshire and Western in downtown.
We had to take the metro from Pasadena to downtown with our bikes. We arrived right in the middle of it. There were maybe 100 riders there and tons of cops. Cops on bikes. Cops on motorcycles. Cops in cars. I guess they feel the need to escort the riders since we take up so much of the road. Our ride started at 7:30. It was crazy! I've never seen so many bike riders in one place!

Here's a bunch of the police escorts.

When we rode we would take over the whole road. The cops would ride/drive ahead and get the traffic to move over for us and block intersections so we could go through red lights. If you were a car at one of the lights, you had to wait a long time.

We probably took up a good 6 blocks or so when we ride around. I bet there about 500 people or more that night.

We rode for I'd say a good 15 miles and then took our first stop. We had pretty much gone to Venice Beach. We continued on and started heading back to downtown, but the cops kept weaving us through random side streets and going on annoying detours than bringing us back to our starting spot. Which by the way, was the nearest Metro stop, so we had to get back there eventually to get home.

When they pulled over for a second break, the three of us decided to split for the main group and head straight back. The last 10 miles were horrible. I was riding my classic Schwinn one speed bike which made hills incredibly miserable. But we finially made it back. I went home with a sore back, sore legs and sore butt. It may be a long time until I do another one of those rides.

Christmas 2010!

2010-12-27T20:57:00.000-08:00

This year I really wanted it to feel like Christmas. Last year we had a few lights and garland hanging, but that was it, we didn't even have a tree. So this time I went all out. I figured it's ok to get a whole bunch of Christmas decorations, because I'll just be able to reuse them for the following Christmas's. It's an investment.

Fake snow on the bookshelf. Closet I'm gonna get to snow in LA.

Cutest nutcrackers ever, from Joann's.

I got a pretty red Christmas table cloth and matching napkins in green.

Stockings. We don't have a fireplace mantel to hang them on, but we found this solid bar on our door that would do just the trick.

My awesome giant nutcracker. I really wanted one of those 6 feet ones, but I couldn't find any. Or any that were in price range. This cute guy is 3 feet and I put him on a stand to make him taller. The stand may or may not be one of those giant boxes of popcorn from Costco that we went through.

My snowman pillow.

Table decorations.

Dave opening a present from his parents that they sent us. We opened it on Christmas morning because we had an inkling of what would be inside.

Oh yeah!!! A wide variety of Mary's amazing homemade treats! We munched on a few of those goodies until dinner.

A cool apron I got from the Kraayenbrinks. I think Mary made it for me. Now I can wear it when I sometimes cook. :)

Our beautiful Christmas tree....and Dave.

A fun game called Carcassone. One of our friends have it and got us hooked on it.

A new hat from my hubby!

Dave hanging up his new shower clock/radio.

Our amazing dinner. We had these cute little Cornish Hens, stuffing, broccoli, leeks, and mashed potatoes and gravy.

I got Dave some new softball kleets.

A new scarf.

Settlers of Catan: Seafarers expansion! Now we just have to read the instructions, which will take a good hour to read.

Hiding the best present of all, his new watch. I forgot to take a picture of it. Oops.

Christmas wore out Dave.

And Christmas tried to get me.

But we both survived and tomorrow, we're off to Tennessee to see all the Warolin's.

I Voted

2010-11-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

Rapunzel

2010-10-12T17:28:00.000-07:00

I got a haircut today.

My hair is very long right now, it would almost touch the top of my jeans.

Anyways, I wanted a trim.

I drove to the nearest Supercuts for a nice, fast, cheap and easy trim.

You can't really mess up a trim.

Hence, going to Supercuts.

I arrived.

I waited.

Then it was my turn.

I walked to the work station.

I began to sit down in her chair.

But no.

I was stopped.

I was instructed to stand.

My hair was too long to sit.

I stood.

The whole time.

Kinda sad.

Laser Eye Surgery

2010-09-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had laser eye surgery. It was aweful. Apparently most people say it didn't hurt and it was fast, well that was not my case. They escorted Dave out to the waiting room because it was kind of tight quarters in the surgery rooms. While waiting to go in for surgery I had to sign a whole bunch of papers saying I can't sue them, complications could arise, I could possibly lose my vision, etc, etc, which really started to freak me out. I was totally fine going into the surgery. Even the days before surgery, people kept asking me if I was scared and I would say how excited I was and I just wanted to get it done already. But now, waiting there in a small room with two other people awaiting surgery, I got really nervous.

They brought me into the surgery room and it was freezing. They gave me a blanket which was the only nice part of the surgery. I had to lie down and they put a bunch of drops in my eyes. They started with my right eye. Then the doctor put this wire-type contraption that keeps your eye open. That hurt and was really uncomfortable. Then they started putting on this round/oval thing that had to "suction" to my eye. That's what hurt the most. It felt like all the blood was going to my eye and it was going to be pulled out of my head. It fell off the first time and so they had to try again. Once they got it on, the laser went to work. I couldn't see anything and one of the nurses in the room just kept saying, "Don't move. Hold still. There is no light." It was kind of creepy. I was still in this awkward, tensed up position, so I had to stay like that the whole time because I was afraid of moving the slightest bit. Then the doctor would also take this swab and wipe around the outside of my eyelids and that hurt. I'd say that whole process took about 5 minutes.

Onto the left eye. Once again they put the wire contraption to keep my lids open. Next the round suction thing. First try. No luck. Second try. No luck. Third try. No luck. By then my eye was in a lot of pain and I was starting to cry. The doctor said I had to do a different kind of lasik procedure on that eye because my eye was too small. So I was sitting on the table crying and had to fill out new paperwork for the new surgery. I wanted to ask if Dave could come back and be with me, but I thought they would say there wasn't enough room. I think I was crying because my eyes hurt, but also because I was afraid there had been a complication or there would be one with this other surgery. I was just freaked out.

I went into another room to do the PRK surgery on my left eye instead of Intra-lase which was done on my right eye. I had calmed down a little bit and hoped for the best. I had to lie down once more and have the wire clamp put on my eye. That thing is so uncomfortable. I had to look at a green light during the surgery. Every now and then the doctor would use that swab and wipe around my eyelids. That was so painful. While looking at the green light, it got really blurry and I got worried. And to make things worse, at one point the doctor said, "Wow, you wore you're contacts for a very long time. You have a lot of scarring on your cornea." He didn't say if it was ok and nothing would be a problem with that. He just left it at that. So that freaked me out. That surgery probably took around another 5 minutes or so.

All in all, I'd have to saw it was a pretty aweful experience. I had two main problems: (1) I think my main problem was the size of my eyes. Because I have smaller eyes than most people, it was a lot harder for them to get the instruments on them. (2) I wish the doctor or nurses would have explained to me what they were going to do right before they do it. Don't just say open my eyes and then all of a sudden put drops in them. Don't just say open your eyes and then start jamming a wire clamp in it. Tell me what's happening. I guess I should have spoken up, but I didn't want to move and I didn't want to bother the doctor.

I'm glad I did it. I'm glad it's over with. I didn't and still don't have any pain after the surgery. Just a tiny bit of discomfort in my left eye because the PRK surgery can be a little bit more painful. The vision in my right eye is great. It's still a little blurry on my left, but that will clear up in a while. Now I'm just worried about the huge red spots all over my eyes. I know people say they got them, and they'll go away, I'm just worried that won't be my case. Plus I'm afraid if I get any auditions, they'll see my eyes and say no right away. Oh well. I'm excited to be able to see without contacts or glasses. I think this will help with my dry eyes in the future. I can't wait to be all better.

Labor Day Weekend BBQ & Outdoor Movie Night

2010-09-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

For labor day weekend, Dave and I invited friends over for a BBQ and an outdoor movie. Inspired by an Outdoor Cinema Food Festival we went to a couple weeks ago, we decided to have our own with cheaper food and better seats. Our friend Jenny works for an equipment company and was able to get us a projector and screen to use for free. Love the hookups!

The spread.

We first ate and played a little Wii.

Archery anyone?

The peeps just chillin'.

The awesome equipment setup. Dave is a genius with electronics!

We set the screen up in our tiny yard, but it was just enough room for everyone and everything.

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Watching Dawn of the Dead. It was a great night!

White Coat Ceremony

2010-09-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

Dave has finally started dental school and we're loving it! Here are pictures from his White Coat Ceremony during his first week of orientation.

I got a ribbon that said "Super Spouse".

They jumping the gun and started sporting their white coats.

Dave made some new friends.

Some important people who spoke at the ceremony.

Putting on their white coats.

Dave is still trying to put his white coat on.

Almost over.

Exiting.

Bye Dr. Dave!

I had to take a picture of these ladies. They all had poofy hair, fake nails and designer bags. These were the four incredibly annoying ladies who sat in front of me. Not only did they" save" four seats by me that never got filled, they talked quite loudly to each other the entire time, and passed around bags of nuts, chips and other random articles of food.

"Tommy Trojan."

Dave and Jacob being professional.

Getting a picture with Tommy Trojan.

This is Dave's work station at school.

All the work stations.

May I look around in your mouth?

Hmm, I think you have a cavitity on your lower left bicusped. That's me, pretending to know dental terminology. I'm sure Dave will read this and chuckle at my poor attempt to sound smart.

Hi, my name is Dr. Kraayenbrink. I will be your dentist today. Please have a seat.

I'm in Business!

2010-07-07T18:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in business! Well, sort of. I have a friend who has two weddings to go to this summer, so I've been comissioned to make two. Cool. I have a lot of details and such to figure out, so these first ones will be a learning experience. I'm kind of excited about this.

Heres a picture of mine framed.

Early Wedding Anniversary Gift

2010-07-06T01:34:00.000-07:00

When Josh & Suzy got married, one of their friends gave them a gift of this drawing with their names spelled in the shapes of a bride and groom. It was so cute! I wanted one, so I took a picture of theirs and drew up my own the other night.

And here's the finished product that I will give Dave when he comes home from his trip.

Maybe I'll start a little side business and sell these to people. Anyone have a wedding coming up soon and need a good gift? :)

Another Year Older

2010-06-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

This year for my birthday I decided to through a themed party.

Theme: Asian (for the most part) with a red & black color theme

We had edamame and spring rolls for appetizers. Sushi for a snack and fortune cookies and cake for dessert. There was and origami station complete with origami paper, origami books, and pillows to sit on. Not really sure if that's Asian. I also had paper lanterns, those have to be Asian.

Origami. Is. So. Hard.

My friend Jonathan played some songs he wrote.

Enjoying the live music.

Only the three of us know why we're laughing so hard.

That's better.
Yum.

Two awesome friends from background work.

LOST, but found.

2010-03-09T22:14:00.001-08:00

Can it really be? I haven't blogged since October of 2009?! All I can say is, whoa.

Where to begin...

Guess the only way to do this is summarize. You know you love it. It'll be fast, easy, and painless for the both of us.

November: Our friends Tony and Hayley from New Zealand stopped in LA during the year-long world tour. We showed them all the fun American touristy stuff we could possibly think of. My parents all came to visit for an early Thanksgiving. I was able to get them on the set of 100 Questions. It was a new NBC sitcom that I was a stand-in on. They go to see how it all worked and see me in action. This is the fateful month that my eye problems began. Ever since Dave and I sat outside Wal-Mart at 2 in the morning to get some good Black Friday deals, I have not been able to wear contacts. At first it was diagnosed as a corneal ulcer again, then it was a herpetic virus, and now it's an extreme case of dry eye. I have continued to waste hundred of dollars on eye appointments and prescriptions. I hope some day this will all clear up.

December: December = Christmas. Christmas = Flights. Flights = Lost Luggage for 4 Days. Lost Luggage for 4 Days = $1000 worth of flight vouchers and 2 free round trip flights.

January: We were sucked into the phenominon that is LOST...5 seasons too late. We're still trying to catch up before the series finale.

February: Dave remembered how much he loved skiing back in December. He went back to South Dakota on another skiing trip with his family. Dave took a big spill and hurt his back. His mom may have/or did break her tail bone. His brother may have/or did break some ribs. Pretty much skiing is too dangerous. They should all switch to snowboarding because it's way better.

March: that's right now...

So long locks

2009-10-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Dave currently has 4 dental interviews. They are at Midwestern, Loma Linda, USC, and University of Minnesota. He just had his interview at Midwestern on Tuesday, so technically he has 1 down and 3 to go. As much I was growing fond of his long hair, I made him cut it for his interviews. I don't want anything to deter him from getting into dental school.

Here's his hair before:

And after:

Sumas

2009-10-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

I know this is kind of late, but I wanted to post pictures from our trip to Washington. In September Dave and I went to Sumas for about 10 days. We got to see my parents and actually my entire family. Ben and Stephanie flew out from Tennessee with Reuben and Pearl and a little bun in the oven. Josh and Suzie and her brother and her friend flew up from Frezno. Marc and Jen and Samantha and Jack came up from Bellingham every day. The whole family together for the summer.

Dave's Dad came out for a couple of days to go hiking on Mt. Baker. The boys rented a whole bunch of gear from REI and even got some cool new hiking boots. They borrow backpacks from Marc and Jen and bought dehydrated food to spend the night on Baker.

It snowed. They snowballed clear a grassy patch for their camp.

Yum, dehydrated rice and peas.
And for dessert.

Uncle Roger took us sailing!

Dave's friend and coworker from The Coffee Club in New Zealand lives in Vancouver, so he came down for a little visit. They went on a few hikes as well.

Go USA!

Jack was dedicated at the church that Marc and Jen go to.

It was 10 days full of nephews, nieces, relatives and eating. It was relaxing and crazy at the same time, but it was fun!

Pella & Omaha

2009-08-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Pella, Iowa to visit Dave's grandparents. His Dad, Mom and siblings drove down so we could spend some time with them as well. We arrived on Tuesday morning and spent all of Wednesday, Thursday and most of Friday with them. We played a lot of Scrabble and Rook. I was able to learn how to play Rook and not have my brothers getting mad at me or not wanting to be my partner. I got pretty good at the game if I do say so myself. We made a few trips to the thrift store and Dave made some delicious curry one night. His Aunt Joyce also made egg rolls which were absolutely to die for! We ate so much on this trip.

On Friday we went to Omaha. One of Dave's friends from college was getting married on Saturday. Dave got a chance to hang out with old college buddies and have a fun tiime at the wedding. I was even able to get him on the dance floor.

It's all so high school

2009-08-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we celebrated Teresa's birthday. Her and Erin threw a high school themed party. Cafeteria food. Music. Trivia. And of course, dress up as a high school student. Were you the jock? Punk? Nerd? Cheerleader?
I made a high school notebook for Teresa comepletely coverded in Robert Pattinson photos. That's so high school.

Your typical lunch tray. Careful, the jello could be spike?

Cheer squad.
Waiting for his turn with the principal.

Twin jocks.
Hey, I'm trying to take my yearbook photo.

Come on guys, one person at a time.

Ah yes, the traditional, basketball pose.

We said one person at a time.

We give up.

7 Minutes in Heaven? How'd that get there?

An unlikely friendship.

Opposites attract.
Hey we kind of look alike. Maybe?

Home schooler's trying to dance.

Geek girl is joining in.

Sorry Teresa, I think he's out of reach.

What a poser.

Surf's up dude!
Hmm, a punk cheerleader?

Dave got some sun the other day.

Presenting the Danny Marathon High School Class of '98:

Erin Hughes - The Home Schooler
David Kraayenbrink - The Jock #1

Jenny Welch - The Class Clown

Tara Kraayenbrink - The Punk
Teresa Walters - The Geeky Nerd

Jonathan Smith - The Jock #2
Lehua Kamakawiwoole - The Cheerleader

David Faulkner - The Surfer Dude.

*RING*

Schools out!

Saints & Sailors

2009-08-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

Our friend Lehua, had a housewarming party with the theme Saints & Sailors. It was mainly sailors though.

David was a Saint Bernard, but he doesn't have his whole outfit on so now he just looks silly. Lehua is next to him.

Whenever I got to a party, I pretty much always bring these games with me. Their home is permanently in my car trunk so I never forget them.

Twins separated at birth but then reunited at the age of 3 to become life long friends? I think so.

Newport Beach

2009-08-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we heard there were 20 ft waves at Newport Beach. The 20 footers were mainly on Friday and Saturday. We went on Sunday, but I bet we saw a few good 15 ft waves.

Dave graded papers.

I went for a walk to the pier. We thought there were bigger waves over there. 45 minutes later, after my long slanted walk along the water, I realized they weren't.

Dave sporting the pony tail. It's a recent development.

Sail away. Sail away. Sail away.

A lifeguard stand will forever remind me of The OC.

Waves by a place called "The Wedge". I guess the waves for a triangle type shape. Good for surfing and boggie boarding.

Dave is 26

2009-07-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

For Dave's Birthday we first had lunch at the Olive Garden where we both go the soup, salad, and breadsticks special. From there we went to the movie theater and saw the new Harry Potter movie. Don't even get me started on that. After the movie we went home for the party.

The carrot cake was so yummy! Gotta love Costco.
After the snacks, Dr. Mario and chit-chat, the troops made their way to town for some Laser tag.

Dave found a loose shopping cart.

We came back for some awesome carrot cake from Costco. It was Janelle's Birthday the next day, so we celebrated for two.

Make a wish!

Teresa, where did you get that!

The day after Dave's Birthday we went to Six Flags to celebrate his birthday, as well as Janelle's which was the 18th. We arrived at Six Flags around 2:45. It was unbearably hot! The beginning consisted of hopping from shade to shade as we made our way to our first ride, the X2. It was awesome!

Amazingly, every roller coaster we went on was awesome. We also went on one water ride that was moderate. We had hoped it would cool us off, but by the time we got to the front of the line, the sun had gone down.

It was a very fun and exhausting day. We were all glad when it was time to go home.

Craft Fair!

2009-07-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

I love me some crafts. Erin, Teresa, Jenny and I went to the 1st Annual Los Angeles Renegade Craft Fair. It was pretty cool. Although a little overwhelming. So many vendors in such a small, poorly ventilated area.

Holla.
Hoot hoot.
The Swap-O-Rama-Rama area is where you could bring a bag in of your old clothes and do screen printing on them or take someone elses old clothes that they don't want and do something fun and crafty to it.

I'm a gnome. Don't steal me.

We found an awesome photo booth at the fair. Only $2 for this picture.

4th of July

2009-07-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July celebrations, Dave and I met with a bunch of friends outside the Rose Bowl and set up camp.

We started playing a game of Settlers, but that quickly ended.
Hangin' out in the shade.
We had about 6 blankets down and some folding chairs.
We had grilled meat and snacks.
I hadn't quite found the fireworks setting on my camera yet.

The fireworks were mediocre. The hanging out before was fun. The best part was watching cars drive over the curb and waiting for some part of the precious car to scrape and grind in a horrible, yet very hilarious manner.

Erika's Totally 80's Birthday

2009-07-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we celebrated our friend Erika's birthday. She gave it an 80's theme. We all met at Dustin and Janelle's house in Altadena where we had finger foods, corn dogs, a bon fire, and Rock Band. Here are some of the photos from the fun and crazy party.

Erika found an awesome Thigh Master at a local thrift store.
80's Chicks
We have no idea what Dave's shirt mean, but it looked 80's. Check out that awesome hair puff.

Gotta love the cut-off shorts.
Rock Band and Saved by the Bell. Best combo ever!

Mmm, corndogs.
80's flashback.
Whit is so punk rock!
Jon...is that a hanky?!
Why hello Christian.
Yummy cake!
Birthday girl.

Note the Zack Morris and AC Slater buttons.

So strong.

Road Trip!!!

2009-06-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

5 Days + 1377 Miles + >0 Beers = ∞ Awesomeness

What? You want to see a summary of the trip in two pictures? Well here you go...

Background:

The sleeping man is my friend Hamish. I met him while working in New Zealand as a chef. He is the guy who hired me. I am grateful.

Recently he came out for a visit. He found very cheap flights (~$500 US roundtrip) and the timing worked well w/ my class and teaching schedules. He arrived on the afternoon of Saturday, May 30, which wasMemorial Day weekend. I wanted to make things as difficult as possible for Hamish (jet lag, fatigue, etc.) so we took of on the road trip first thing Sunday morning.

Note: If you want to see a picture in more detail, click on it and it will become larger.

Death Valley:

Our first destination on the road trip was Death Valley, CA. Here is a picture of one stretch of road. Must have been at least eight miles of perfectly straight road.

Death Valley holds the record for the second highest temperature ever recorded at 134 degrees F. We weren't fortunate enough to experience record heat, but we experienced heat nonetheless. We decided to purchase this classy thermometer at a gas station to get an idea of what kind of heat we were up against.

This temperature reading of ~106 degrees was taken just after noon down in Death Valley. I am sure the temperature got a few degrees hotter, but the thermometer broke after only a couple hours of use, probably because it got too hot and gave up.

We pulled over to view the scenery a few times, but we didn't last long outside of the car. A strange phenomenon that we noticed was that when the wind blew, it actually made us feel hotter.

We took Tara's car because my car's air conditioner is on the fritz. About 2 hours into the road trip we were very glad to have it.

We pulled over at the lowest point in Death Valley and walked around for a bit. Again, we didn't last long because we thought we were gonna melt.

There is a tiny sign 282 feet high up on that mountain side, which shows sea level. Whoever said hot air rises was definitely lying.

Tara's car is about 100 yards behind me. That was the most difficult 100 yards I have ever hiked.

Death Valley is actually a town. Who knew?

We set up camp the first night in a small camping area. The park ranger told us that it would still be 100 degree at 9 pm. Unfortunately he was right. We decided to light a camp fire to cool ourselves off.

At about 11:30 pm we gave up on trying to sleep. We had just layed the tent out on the ground as a tarp since it was so hot. When I turned the lantern on to pick everything up, I saw two very large cockroaches scuttle away. Then when I went to grab the tent bag right next to us, I found this terrifying white spider thing. Its body was longer than an inch and when I went to scare it away with a stick it raised its arms up and attacked.

We were definitely glad to get out of there. That night we ended up sleeping in a Walmart parking lot half-way between Death Valley and Vegas. Amazingly, it ended up being one of our best nights of sleep on the whole trip.

Las Vegas:

You know what they say. What happens in Vegas, gets blogged about.

Since we were staying in Vegas on a weeknight, we got a really good deal on our hotel, which was on the strip and only cost $20 for the night. We did a bunch of walking along the strip and into various casinos.

Here is a picture looking down the strip.

We were doing the road trip on a budget so we didn't see any shows or eat at any fancy places but we did make an amazing discovery. I have a feeling that someone is going to come into my house and break my kneecaps for saying this, but in all casinos along the strip, drinks are free as long as your are gambling. And yes, 1 cent slots count. Needless to say was spent a few hours playing the penny slots. Slowly.

Grand Canyon:

On the way to the Grand Canyon, we stopped at the Hoover Dam. It was very large. The first thing we saw was this new bridge being built to bypass the hoover dam. Traffic gets backed up for a long ways on either side of the dam because security needs to check vehicles that cross it. I'm not sure when the bridge is supposed to be finished, but it was a very cool sight.

Here are a couple of pictures of the bridge from on top of the dam.

Here is a picture of the dam. It's hard to tell how huge it is so you will just have to trust me when I say it is very large.

When we finally arrived at our campsite just off the south rim of the Grand Canyon, we quickly set up camp so we could get to the canyon before sunset.

This time we actually took the time to set up the tent.

When viewing these pictures of the Grand Canyon, it is hard to get an idea of its size. To give you an idea, the area of the canyon that we were at was about 10 miles across and about 5000 feet deep.

After the sun went down, we headed back to our campsite. We got a fire going quickly. It got down to upper 30's that night so we actually needed a fire.

Once we got the fire going, we cooked a whole chicken in the coals. It actually tasted really good. After dinner we hung out by the fire. The air was so fresh and clear up there. It was nice to get out of the smog of LA.

The next morning, we hiked around the south rim of the canyon. It was a perfect temperature for hiking with great visibility.

This was a scary mine way down in the canyon. I think they used to mine copper from it.

After a couple hours of hiking and taking pictures, we headed back to the car and took off for Phoenix.

Phoenix:

On the way to Phoenix we stopped at Sedona, an area with very interesting rock features.

When we were nearing Phoenix, we actually drove through some rain.

We experienced extreme heat, cold, wind, and rain in a very short period of time. I think all of these extreme environments were especially hard on Hamish since he was coming from his winter in NZ and he was still suffering from jet lag. Every morning, I would get up at around 5 or 5:30 am and wake him up soon after. I am pretty sure that every morning he said something to the effect of "Yep, I am definitely getting sick", but fortunately he stayed healthyish.

When we arrived in Phoenix, we did a little hiking with my cousin Andrew. He took us to a remote area filled with cactus near his house.

Here we are standing next to one of the tallest saguaro cactus in the area at dusk.

That night we stayed at a condo near Andrew's place. It is owned by one of his relatives so we got to stay there for free. We were very grateful to have a nice, quiet place to stay.

Salton Sea:

Thursday was the last day of our road trip. We left Phoenix early that morning after a tasty breakfast made by Andrew's wife Becca and headed to the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea, like Death Valley, is also below sea level and also very hot, but with the added humidity from the sea. The sea is about 40 miles long and 15 miles across.

It was once a resort/tourist area, but for whatever reason people mostly stopped going and now it resembles something like a nuclear testing site.

These dead fish were a very common site along the shore.

We stopped at a little town called Bombay Beach along the beach to see if anything was going on. We saw many old campers like these. The were all corroded and sinking into the earth.

Here is an old dock abandoned long ago.

More dead fish along the shore.

I don't know what kind of liquid is in the Salton Sea, but it definitely isn't water.

On our way out of the small town we stopped along a few streets. There were some new cars around and some strange buildings, but we never saw anyone.

On our way out, we saw a sign that said "Cold Drinks" on the front of an old broken down building. We decided to check it out even after a lifetime of seeing horror movies. Hamish, being the wonderful gentleman that he is, gave me the privelege of going in first. I took a step inside and nearly stopped in my tracks. There were about about 10 sets of 70 something year old eyes staring right at me and into my soul. The man nearest me must have weighed about 400 pounds with an eight inch beard and was shoveling a large serving bowls worth of popcorn into the area of his mouth.

After the initial shock, we bellied up to the bar and each got a beer. The bartender was actually a really nice guy and beers were only $2 a piece. The place was covered in one dollar bills with people's names written on them. We weren't sure if they were from previous customers, victims, or both.

After leaving Bombay Beach, we headed over to Slab City, a place that I had originally read about in the book "Into the Wild". The first place that we stopped at was Salvation Mountain.

It has been made over a 20 year period by a guy named Leonard Knight. He mixes his own paint and does all of his own work.

He has gather tires and sticks from the desert and has made a series of caves and other structures.

These blue birds are apparently very popular with tourists and get photographed by everyone who visits.

These flowers can be found all over the mountain. He makes these by soaking clay from the mountain overnight. He then throws the wet clay against the mountain and punches it, resulting in the flower shape.

After leaving Salvation Mountain, we headed into Slab City, which is home to 2,000 to 4,000 people depending on the time of year. It is basically a trailer park/campground where people live to get away from the worries of the world.

Here is a common sight.

This place, called The Range, has live music every Saturday at sundown. I would like to check it out sometime.

We took one last picture and headed back home.

On our way back, we passed through a large windfarm with thousands of these wind turbines.

Conclusion:

We finally got home Thursday evening. We were very tired from the five days, but the road trip was a blast. Having Hamish around was a perfect excuse to take a long trip and get out of LA for a while.

Parents Visit

2009-06-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

My parents went on a really long road trip for about 2 weeks. I was their second to last stop before going home. They arrived around Thursday afternoon (May 28th). That night we - Dave, Me, Hamish, Erin, Teresa, and David - went out to eat at the California Pizza Kitchen. We ordered way too much food, but it was delicious.

On Friday morning I showed them our old apartment so they could understand how incredibly wonderful our new apartment is compared to our old place. From there we went to Dave's campus for a little tour of his lab.

Next up, the Santa Monica Pier. We walked along the pier for a while and then headed to the 3rd St. Promenade. I found a dress at Forever 21 and my mom found a couple t-shirts at Urban Outfitters. We headed home after that and stopped at Costco to buy steak and shrimps for dinner. Once again, we had way too much food, but it was really good.

In the morning I made swedish pancakes for breakfast and then they were off. A quick little visit but it was really nice to see them again.

So. Cute.

2009-06-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

Failure

2009-05-27T20:41:00.001-07:00

Today my friend Becky and I had planned on going to Disney's California Adventure with our free passes left over from my birthday. First Becky encountered traffic on the way to my apartment. Then we got a semi-flat tire on our drive down there. We stopped at a gas station and just had to fill it with some air. That completely threw our whole day off. We were late to start with, plus we needed to leave early because Becky had an audition around 4:30.

We decided to turn around and go to the Citadel Outlets for some shopping. Turning around meant we had to join the line of traffic that lead into LA. We arrived around 9, just to find out that stores didn't open until 10.

Fine, we're going to The Grove to shop and get food there. A little before 10 we walked up to the restaurant for breakfast and drinks and were told they couldn't serve us drinks until 11. We just couldn't win today. Eventually we got our drinks, had a yummy omelette, and watched Ever After.

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday - Dave and I did a little bit of cleaning up around the apartment and getting supplies ready for his road trip. Around 5:30pm, our friend Hamish from New Zealand flew in to LAX. He is visiting for 2 weeks. We're letting him stay at our place, but his rent was to be paid in Pineapple Lumps and L&P. He brought 15 bags of Pineapple Lumps and 4 bottles of L&P. I was ecstatic!

That night we brought him to an authentic Californian eatery, In-n-Out. We got him a one of their folded paper hats and two stickers. He loved the food. We also made him try Root Beer. He was hooked.

Sunday - In the morning Dave and Hamish left for their 5 day road trip to Death Valley, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Phoenix. I went to The Grove in the afternoon and bought two new pairs of jeans for Dave. He has only one pair of jeans left that do not have holes in them.

On Sunday night I went with Dustin and Janelle to the Flight of the Conchords concert at The Greek Theater. It was awesome! In the beginning they came out in sweet robot suits. They told a lot of jokes, poked fun of the USA, and made me miss New Zealand.

Monday - I woke up at 6am to go cheer on my friend Janelle who ran the LA Marathon. Parking and navigate around the road blocks was quite the obstacle. While trying to find parking at the starting line I hit a pigeon. It was terrible. I didn't hit it hard enough to completely kill it and saw it flapping and rolling around on the ground. It was so sad.

I went to the starting line and looked for Janelle, but there were so many people I couldn't find her. Once it got to the walkers in the back of the pack, I drove ahead to about 2/3 of the race. When I got there it was only a few runners going by, so I hoped it was the first of the pack. I waited for about a half hour and then I saw her. I had made a sign that said, "Go Janelle!" on one side and "Janelle Rocks!" on the other. I held it up and cheered her on.

From there I went to the finish line. I made a quick stopped at Ralph's and bought her a dozen pink roses for the finish line! I picked a nice open spot along the road about 200 yards from the finish line. While waiting I had two people come up and take pictures of my sign. It was just a piece of cardboard with the letters written on with permanent marker. About 40 minutes later there was Janelle, still running strong! She looked so happy to see me and so happy to be almost done.

I amazingly managed to find her in the family and friends welcoming area. We walked around for a little bit. Janelle went off to go get a massage and hung out it the shade. She did awesome and I'm glad I could watch her. She finished the race in about 4 1/2 hours!

Werewolves, Museums and Gnomes

2009-05-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

On Friday I worked on a feature film called The Roommate. In one scene I was picked to be featured dancing on the staircase with the lead actress and a few boys and girls. The boy I danced with is actually going to be one of the main werewolves in the new Twilight Saga, "New Moon". He was really nice. And the funny thing is, I had just seen in my new Entertainment Magazine a picture of the werewolf pack for the Twilight movie with him in it. Crazy!

Tonight Dave and I used the gift card I got from my parents for my birthday and went to the movies. We saw Night at the Museum. It was really cute. I'm sure people will think it's cheesy, but I liked it. It was really fun and entertaining.

And then when we got home from the movie and were at our front door, Dave noticed my garden gnome was gone. We looked in the bushes nearby, but it wasn't there. I guess someone stole it, which makes me really sad. That gnome was awesome. R.I.P. good gnome, wherever you are. May the person who took you away from me ... stub their toe!

Earthquake!!!

2009-05-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

It's me. Dave. Last night I felt my first earthquake! I was on the computer and I thought I heard a train or semi or something outside. But then I started feeling the room shake and I knew it was on. The shaking only lasted for 15 seconds or so but it was amazing. Hopefully we are still in LA when "The Big One" happens.

Birthday Present

2009-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

It is a large black and white photograph of a street in Amsterdam with a cute red bike in the center.
See, it's large! I love it!

Birthday Bash

2009-05-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of the new Disneyland offer which gives you free admission on your birthday. It is only good for the day of your birthday. My birthday was on a Saturday which was perfect. I went with my friend Becky. We met while doing background work together.

Becky arrived at 8am with an iced mocha frappuccino from Starbucks for me. How nice! The drive went fast. We got there in a half hour or so. We got a really good parking spot and took the little train to the gates. I was given a pin that said, "Happy Birthday Tara" and Becky got a pin that said "I'm Celebrating".

We first went to Space Mountain and got a fast pass so we could come back to that later and hop right on. The first ride we went on was the Toy Story ride. It was probably my favorite because you get to shoot lazers at targets. An interactive ride. I totally dominated Becky. She had about 60,000 points and I got about 82,000. But we both only made it up to Level 3 in skill, which goes all the way up to Level 10.

From there we went on the Matterhorn, the Teacups and It's a Small World After All. I kept thinking the song would end at some point, but it never did. It just kept going and going. But, they had a little Maori person with kiwi birds and pukekos so that makes up for it...a little bit.

Next up was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain and Star Tours. We were super hungry after all of that and got burgers and french fries at Tomorrowland Terrace.

Once our tummies were full we headed over to the Indiana Jones ride, but as we were waiting in line, we were told it had broken down so we left. From there we went to the Haunted House and last but not least, Pirates of the Caribbean.

While walking back to the car, we stopped at an ice cream shop along Main Street and shared a cup of Mint Chocolate Chip. Yum!

I got home around 3:30 which gave me time to take a little nap before the party at our apartment. When I got home, I noticed a large spot on our dining room wall covered in newspapers. It was my birthday present! Dave had gone to Ikea and bought this picture that I had really been wanting. It was so sweet. And the picture looks so good.

Dave and I played some Dr. Mario before the guests arrived. The party was awesome! Dustin and Janelle brought rock band for us to play. We didn't have to worry about being too loud because the neighbors were gone. Instead of a cake we got these giant cupcakes from Costco and put candles on those. We still have some left.

We even had a hot dog eating contest. I think Dave won. The girls combined their totals together to claim that they won. Dave only at 6 hot dogs. He was pretty disappointed in himself. He thought he could eat a lot more than that. I guess he shouldn't have filled up on pizza, chips and cupcakes before.

It was a great birthday and I'm glad I could celebrate the day with so many of my friends.

Cards, Cards, Cards

2009-05-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

I love birthdays! I love getting mail! I love getting birthday cards in the mail! My first birthday card was from my brother Ben and sister-in-law Stephanie which arrived a few days ago. I think every year he puts what age I'm turing which is impresses me that he always remembers but also starts to make me sad because I'm getting older. It was a cute card with a cow on the front. Thanks Ben and Stephanie!

Today I got a card from my parents with a beautiful poem on it. I also got a gift card for the movie theater! Yay, I can finally go to the movie theater I live by for the first time since I've moved to LA. Should be fun. Now to decide on what movie I want to go see with the card. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Summer Vacation

2009-05-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Last night Dave and I bought tickets to Washington for our summer vacation. Well I guess one of them. We are planning on going to one of Dave's friends weddings as well in Omaha. Our flight is from LAX straight to Bellingham, which is really nice. My brother and sister-in-law live in Bham and my parents are just a half hour away. We leave on September 5th and come back on September 14th. I can't wait to get back home for a while!!!

Things are Better

2009-05-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry, like always, I've been really busy and haven't had time to blog. Since the bad week of my life, things have gotten better. I am still working with AFTRA to see if production will pay for my stolen laptop. I haven't done anything for Little i since they laid me off, but I will wait and see. I will let them contact me when they need.

Around the middle of April we noticed that a duplex next to ours was for rent, which got us thinking that we wanted to change apartments. We started browsing on Craigslist and WestSideRentals to see what was out there. I found a few places here and there. We were hoping for something bigger, not by the freeway, and preferably closer to Cal State. We looked at a few places but were never blown away. They all had their pros and cons.

A few times we drove around areas of the city that we might want to live to see if there were any For Rent signs on the yards. As we were driving, we found this really nice residental area by Cal State that was away from the freeway and was a very nice neighborhood. Unfortunately we didn't see any signs of rentals.

And then one day I found it. I was searching on WestSideRentals and found a duplex just a mile away from Cal State in that exact area we had been driving through that I mentioned in the previous paragraph. I drove by just to check out the outside of the apartment. It was very cute, tucked back away from the road.

I called the landlord that night, which was this older woman who loved to talk. I arranged to view the apartment in a few days because the carpets were being cleaned the next day. Dave and I decided to go that morning anyways so he could see the outside and the carpet cleaners were there, as well as Vivian. She gave us a tour of the apartment and we fell in love right away. We filled out the application right there and gave her the money to do a credit check. She said she would run it tin the afternoon and call us later that night. She called around 8:30pm saying we could have the apartment. We were so happy.

That weekend we packed up everything and began the move. We moved all the little things on Friday and Saturday and then finished up on Sunday by renting a Uhaul and moving the larger things.

Pictures of our awesome new apartment:

When things go bad

2009-03-29T00:43:00.001-07:00

As some of you may know, this past week was not the greatest for me. On Tuesday I received an email from my current employer of Little i saying that I was being laid off at the end of the month. It was quite a surprise to me. Just a few weeks before that I had talked to my boss and he had reassured me that our company was doing fine even with the poor economy. But then a few days prior to my lay off, I received an email asking if I was willing to switch to an hourly rate instead of a regular salary. So I thought maybe I would have some hours cut back, but not terminated completely.

It was a great three years working for Little i. It was my first "real job" after college. I love the people I worked with and the fun and crazy projects I was given. This job also allowed both Dave and myself to visit France, Germany and Hong Kong. They were incredibly flexible in every way and I appreciate everything they did for me. It was a great company to work for and I will miss everyone dearly.

To make my week even worse, the day after my news from Little i, my computer was stole while I was working on location. Like always, I had placed all my things in the background holding area and was quickly hauled off to set. I was on the set of 90210, which I have worked many a times, and had already worked on Monday and Tuesday at the same location. But today someone came into our holding area, which is supposed to be watched by security while we are on set, and stole my laptop. I told security and the locations master and they searched the background actor's bags but of course found nothing. There was a huge fuss about it at the beginning and then it died down in about 10 minutes. I knew security wouldn't really try that hard to look for it. They don't care. I'm just background. I filed a police report the next day, but really don't plan on them ever finding it. It was a very frustrating, angering and humiliating time.

And that was my week.

What? We live by the beach?

2009-03-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I was not able to book a job, so Dave and I went to the beach. It was really warm and sunny at our apartment, but Santa Monica was foggy and chilly. We brought a blanket and sat on the beach for a while watching all the crazy tourist playing in the cold water.

The pier.

The beach. See, fog. Lame.

I'm not quite as strong as a tractor.

San Diego

2009-01-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Dave and I went to San Diego to hang out with his parents. His brother and sister-in-law were able to come as well. Darrel and Mary were booked on a veterinary drug company paid vacation and we were all able to come along and stay at the hotel for free with them.

On Thursday I worked on 90210 until 4pm. I quickly drove home and crazy enough, was home before Dave. He had a class until 5:30. We were out the door around 6 and made it to San Diego around 8:30. We missed out on the free food and snacks at the convention center but went out to eat at an Irish pub. The food was quite tasty.

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant called MaryJanes and then drove too Balboa Park. We got "passports" that would give us free entry into most of the museums. First up, the automobile museum.

Check out that hot Ferrari.

Next up, the air and space museum.

The actual Bonnie and Clyde car.

I am top gun.

After the air and space museum we walked over to the Science museum and grabbed a little snack. With our passport we were allowed one free IMAX screening. We watched the one about the ocean. I don't remember all of it because I fell asleep a few times. I think most of us did. I blame it on the IMAX. The screen makes you dizzy, so you have to close your eyes, but then that just makes you fall asleep.

We decided to go our separate ways from there. Everyone went to the Natural History museum except for Bri and I...me and Bri...whatever. We went to the photography museum. We also hit up the San Diego Art Museum.

That night we ate out at a restaurant called RA Sushi. I think we got about 10 rolls of sushi and ate it all. It was so good.

On Saturday we toured the USS Midway. They give you headphones that explain everything on the boat. It's kind of nice, because then you can go at your own pace.

I don't think the Navy would ever let Dave work on an aircraft carrier because he's just too big. He'd always be laying unconcious on the floor because he's hit his head too many times.

Uh oh.

Nathan was bad and sent to the brig.

Nathan and Dave are serious helicopter pilots. (Click on the picture to see the image larger, so you can see their faces.) They mean business.

" I say stop!"

A sculpture recreation of the famous V-J Day kiss. I used to love that famous black and white photo until I read this: "This famous kiss photo was taken on V-J Day in Times Square. The photo was plastered all over newspapers and was seen as a symbol of a new era of peace, love and hope. The truth of the matter was that this soldier was kissing every woman in the square and this nurse in particular slapped the sailor. " I still like it. I guess will just remember it the way I think it is.

I didn't slap Dave after he kissed me and he wasn't running around kissing all the women.

We then headed to Point Loma to see the tidepools. Unfortunately, when we got there, the tidepools had been closed for the rest of the day because there were too many people already there. We went to the lighthouse and looked around the park.

Father off in the distance we could see a whale spouting out water. It was too far to see any part of the body, but you could see a spray of water every now and then.

Group photo.

A little about the hotel. It was really cool. Since it was the Hard Rock Hotel, it was all music based. They had pieces of clothing from famous singers. Band names painted on the walls. Photos of famous singers and bands. In our room they had pink embroidered guitars on our pillows. A black guitar pick sticker held our toilet paper roll. And lots of other fun details.

Here's our incredibly expensive mini bar that was completely off limits. Although when we arrived at the hotel, they hadn't completely restocked everything and tried to charge us for three large bottles of water and a bottle of wine that came to around $80 or something like that. Luckily we got that taken off our bill. The design on the mirror is kind of their logo design. It's on their clothes in the gift shop, on your towels, on their pads of paper, etc.

It was such a wonderful trip and vacation. It was really nice that Dave's parents invited us and were able to get us our own room at the hotel and pamper us for the weekend.

Rose Bowl Parade

2009-01-03T15:37:00.000-08:00

On Years morning Dave and I got up at 5am. Not fun. We got ready and drove to Pasadena to see the Rose Bowl Parade. Janelle had saved us a parking spot in front of her apartment, that way we wouldn't have to drive around forever trying to find a spot.

Around 6 we walked to Colorado Blvd and scouted out for good parade watching locations. There were so many chair that people had set up already along the street. Some people even had blow up mattresses that they had slept on over night or mini fireplaces to stay warm and cook food.

We found a spot behind a few blow up beds. After they woke up and deflated the beds, we moved up and were right behind just one row of chairs. So we had a great with no one standing in front of us.

Waiting for the parade to start and staying warm.

Only some of the people. I heard there were about a million people along the parade route.

There were airplanes writing messages in the sky. At first it was cool because it was festive, "Happy 2009" but then...

...it got lame because they started advertising for television shows.

And it begins.

First float of the parade.

This one moved a lot. All the little robot characters twisted and turned and waved.

The Hawaii band.

The B2 Stealth Bomber was pretty cool, but it only flew once over our heads. What a waste.

He twirled this rope around that horse the entire route. Poor guy. His arms must have been so sore at the end.

Probably my favorite float.

This float had a dog that would skateboard around the inside and they played, or should I say, blared the song, Who Let the Dogs Out.

There was another little "float" like this. They were bumper cars. I don't think they were allowed to bump each other.

Cool hats.

It's hard to see him, but on the back part of the float, the guy from Jack in the Box is dancing.

The end.

A First

2009-01-03T14:16:00.001-08:00

For Christmas we drove to Phoenix, Arizona and visited Dave's cousin Andrew, his wife Becca, and their two little girls Alysia and Madison. They live in a town just outside of Phoenix called Anthem, AZ. This would be the first time either of us had been to Arizon or the Grand Cayon. We arrived Christmas Eve night. On Christmas day we opened presents and did a little exploring. We couldn't do too much though, it was rainy all day.

Giant suguaro cactus. They are so tall.

Dave actually looks small for once.

You probably don't see raindrops on cactus that often.

Madison sitting on Dave. Alysia had been sitting on him but got up before I could take a picture.

The next days were much warmer and sunny out.

Suguaro cactus were everywhere. There were so many of them.

Dave as a cactus.

Tara as a better cactus.

The brown sticks in the middle are what a dead suguaro cactus look like.

A stopping point before the main Grand Canyon part.

The Grand Canyon is so big that it's small. If that makes sense. It's so wide, it's too hard to tell how wide it is. The distance is deceiving. Plus when you're standing at the top, you can't tell how deep it is.

I didn't think of the Grand Cayon as a place to get snow and ice and be incredibly cold.

We saw a bunch of deer by the roads.

There were lots of big, pretty icicles.

Oh Dave.

The whole gang.

I got it...ouch!

Christmas Eve Eve

2009-01-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

We opened presents the day before Christmas Eve since we would be on the road all day.

I forgot to take a picture of it but, the big box was a break maker from Dave's parents.

In n' Out gift cards from my parents.

Dave loves new socks.

We were in desparate need of new bed sheets. Yipee!

I did it just for you, Kate.

2008-12-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

1. What are your nicknames? Tar-Tar, Tar-Tar Sauce, Tar-Face (Thanks Sarah), Tard (Thanks Erin), Twizzlers, Tiny, Tear Bear, Stinky...I think thats all. At least all the ones that were said to my face.

2. Show and/or reality show would you like to be on?America's Next Top Model because they do such fun and interesting modeling challenges and Price is Right because it's a classic, but they would have to bring Bob Barker back.

3. What was the first movie you bought on DVD or VHS? I can only remember the first DVD and that was Antitrust with Rachel Leigh Cook and Ryan Phillipee.

4. What is your favorite scent? Right now, Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy.

5. If you had one million dollars that you could only spend on yourself, what would you do with it? First off, Kate, it says you can only spend it on yourself, so no house for your parents. I would pay off my student loans, buy a new car, buy a house, and of course buy new clothes. I know, I'm so selfish, but the question requires it.

6. What one place have you visited that you can't forget and want to go back? There's too many...Paris, The Dom, Milford's Sound, Hong Kong...

7. Do you trust easily? ...why do you ask? huh?

8. Do you think before you act, or act before you think? Both, at the same time. Beat that.

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy lately? The cold weather, not having a white Christmas and not being with my family for Christmas.

10. Do you have a good body image? HA! I try to though, I really do.

11. What is your favorite fruit? My mom knows this one, WATERMELON!!!

12. What websites do you visit daily? Facebook, LOLcats, Bank of America, Verizon, Joey's List, IMDB, Blogs, Google Maps.

13. What have you been seriously addicted to lately? I'll admit it, I'm reading the Twilight series and I just can't get enough.

14. What is the last song you got stuck in your head? Supermassive Black Hole by Muse. Awesome!

15. What is your favorite item of clothing? Boots and leggings.

16. Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy? No, I usually pour a butt load of sugar on top and eat the cereal without scraping the bottom of the bowl so I can eat all the sugar that sunk to the bottom.

17. What would you do if you found $100 laying on the ground? Get really excited because I find money on the ground to look so cool in a weird sort of way and then like most people pick it up and probably keep it.

18. What items could you not go without during the day? Cell phone, book, blanket (sets are usually cold), and lip gloss.

19. What should you be doing right now? You probably don't want to know, but I was about to go tweeze my eyebrows before I decided to actually fill one of these out.

20. Name 3 people who should be tagged. I'll let you tag yourself.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

2008-12-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Last week Saturday we were invited to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Dave and I quick ran to Salvation Army and were fortunate enough to find some sweaters. The party was with Dustin and Janelle Vander Haar, former Dordt students with us, and friends of his from Fuller Seminary.

We mingled and ate lots of yummy treats. We also played a game where there was one line on a piece of paper, and then we would have to write the next line and pass it along to create the rest of the limerick. The line was: When Santa took off in his sleigh... They came out pretty funny. The two best limericks won a prize. Janelle won first place and Dave won second place. We also voted on best ugly Christmas sweater. I won.

Post Thanksgiving

2008-12-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my brother Josh and his girlfriend Suzy drove down from Frezno, CA to celebrate Thanksgiving with us. Dave and I, ok, mainly if not all Dave, got the food ready for when they would come over. We woke up bright and early to stuff the turkey, get the turkey in the oven, and even start the pumpkin pie.

They arrived around 10:30 or so, which gave us time to do a little Black Friday shopping. Yikes, I know. We first stopped at Target. It was surprizingly calm. Dave was a little disappointed that there weren't more people. He was hoping to have to do a little elbowing and shoving. They were having a big DVD sale, so we bought four new movies: I Am Legend, Hairspray, Juno and Transformers.

Next we stopped at Circuit City. After we had parked and started walking toward the store entrance we saw a line of people waiting outside. Apparently they were letting only a certain amount of people go in at a time. We waited. It wasn't too long of a wait. We didn't find any good sales.

After that we drove home to fill our empty and hungry stomachs. We had stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and who knows what else. It was so good. That was the first time Dave ever cooked a whole turkey and it was amazing. Everything was amazing.

Then we went to the living room, all two steps from the table, and played Apples to Apples. It was really fun. Josh technically won because it says to play to 8 points, but in the end, I had more points then him, so I consider it a victory for myself. We had some pumpking pie and then they were off.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

So I've been a little neglectful of this blog in the last few months. We celebrated Thanksgiving twice. Actually Dave celebrated it three times. On Wednesday he had a Thanksgiving celebration at school. Everyone brought some food and they had a little party. He brought a really yummy stuffing that he made.

On Thursday we went to Brandon and Kara Newenhuis'. We had so much delicious food that day. Our main meal had ham, sweet potatoes, salads, some frozen cranberry thing and so much else I'm probably forgetting. After that we played a game of Celebrity Charades. It was boys against girls. Everyone chose five famous people and wrote them down on separate pieces of paper. In the first round we had to describe who it was. In the second round we had to act it out. And in the third round we could only use one word. The girls won. :)

Then it was out to the garage for some ping pong. First we played a partners tournament. Dave and Kara were partners and they dominated. Then we went on to some singles games. I played a lot better than I had remembered being able to play. Although I could only beat Dave when he used his right hand. We then went back inside and had some more snack food: chips & salsa, cheese, pickles, crackers. And last but not least, we ended the night with smore cooked over their fireplace. It was really fun and nice to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family.

More News

2008-10-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a few weeks now since we've been living in LA. Dave has settled into his classes and seems to have either a quiz or test every other day. I think he enjoys it though. He seems to thrive when it comes to homework and reading assignments. I find it quite amazing. I don't think I could ever do that any more. I'm done with school. Or at least I like to think I am.

I have been looking for jobs and working for Little i. I've recently been hired at Forever 21 as a sales associate. I'm not the biggest fan of that job. I could go on and on about the things that bother me, but I won't. I have also been doing some background for television shows and movies.

It's funny how we've adjusted so quickly to LA. We seem to be getting used to the heat. The other day, it dropped down to around the 60's and we both thought it was so cold. We're so LA.

On another note, my grandma died on Monday and I will be flying out to Minneapolis on Friday for the funeral. All the grandkids are going to be there except for one who is in Europe right now. I thought about no going. Money is really tight right now, but I thought it would be good if I went.

LA Apartment

2008-09-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I arrived in LA on Monday morning with Erin. We have no troubles for the most part. On the last mountain pass before entering Los Angeles, my car started to overheat so we pulled over at the next rest area. Unforunately that was the end of our car troubles, the next day it overheated again and wouldn't start. We had it checked out and learned we need a new head gasket which isn't an easy task for the mechanic, so it would cost $1000. My car will now be parked in the driveway for some time until we get the money to fix it.

We now have our apartment all set up. Pretty much everything is put away and in it's place. We live a few miles from Dave's school and Josh gave us Marc's old mountain bike, so he will be using that to get to school. We also got a bunch of Josh' furniture that he had in storage, so we were able to furnish our apartment with that.

Free dresser on the side of the road.
I would like to paint the bathroom...as well as pretty much everything else.
The living room. James Dean was able to fit in my car. I was very happy.
We bought the washer off of craigslist. I have a love/hate relationship with that website.

The Warolins

2008-09-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

During the last week of August all my brothers and myself, plus our significant others or girlfriend, were home. The main thing I remember when everyone was home was...eating. We ate so much. We were always eating.

We went to a Mariners vs Twins game in Seattle. We did the usual stop to Ivars for some wonderful fish and chips. Unfortunately for Dave, the Twins lost. But it was a fun time.

We played Settlers of Catan and added on the Cities and Knights version. We went to Boulevard Park and ate. We went sailing, except it wasn't true sailing since we were on a catamaran. Who knows if I even spelled that right. We went to Lake Padden. We ate some more.

It was the first time in a long time and probably the last time for a while that all us kids and spouses and grandkids will be home all at the same time. It was fun seeing everyone again.

The Kraayenbrinks

2008-09-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

In mid August, Dave and I flew out to South Dakota to visit his side of the family. The flight out there was an interesting one. We arrived in Seattle to fly to Denver. It was announced that the flight was overbooked and they needed people to offer to be bumped. We were in no huge rush, so Dave went up to the counter and came back with two free round trip tickets to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. We were also supposed to fly first class for our flights, but decided to fly standby and was able to get there sooner.

We had a great time. Dave showed off his awesome cooking talents, much to the pleasure of his mom, who I'm sure enjoyed the short break. We checked out his mom's huge garden which provided many of the needed vegetables for our meals. I was amazed at how big it was and how much food it kept producing.

One day we went boat, I think on the Platte River. The kids came with and we went tubing. Dave had a fun time trying to tip people over or jump on their tube. I preferred to watch. Dave also went knee boarding and showed off his 360 skills. We also went fishing in the same area the next night. Eli caught the first fish and then I caught the next two. Those were the only ones for the night.

After a few days we drove down to the Dakota Dunes to visit Nathan and Briana. We played a ton of games of Settlers of Catan with Nathan. We also played Guitar Hero. I was so much better than the guys. And then we did a lot of floating down the river on one of their friends boats. It was a nice relaxing time.

We also drove back up to Yankton for the Kraayenbrink Camp Out. Dave stayed and talked with family while I went geocaching with his dad. For those of you who don't know what geocaching is, it's kind of like a treasure hunt. In short, people have placed all these different boxes or cylinders or whatever and you have to try and find them with your gps system. You may think it sounds kind of silly, but I loved it. I had a blast searching for them. We found 3.

We stayed for about a week in the Midwest. And I don't know how it happened, but for some dumb reason, I completely forgot to take any pictures. On our flight home we offered to be bumped again, but our flight wasn't quite full enough. But they put us in first class because we were nice enough to offer. It was awesome!

1 Year Wedding Anniversary

2008-08-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

July 21st, 2007

I'm a little late on posting this blog, but whatever. We kind of celebrated our 1 year a few different times. We both worked on July 21st, so we hadn't planned anything special. I surprised Dave that night by cooking dinner for us and having a romantic candle lit night. I had also rented Phantom of the Oper which was the first movie we ever watched together and Walk the Line which was the movie we saw on our first date.

That Saturday I had planned a wine taste test at the local Mills Reef Winery. It was cold and rainy that day, so it wasn't very busy. The people were extremely friendly and informative, which made the experience that much better. We tasted about 15 different wines. I have to say this, I hadn't eaten any breakfast that day and after tasting that much wine, plus being the lightweight that I am, I was quite woozy at the end. We bought two bottles to take back to the states with us and had lunch at their restaurant. From there we drove to the movie theater and saw The Dark Knight. It was completely sold out. Luckily I had gotten our tickets beforehand. Unfortunately we came very close to the actually movie time and ended up sitting in the very front left corner of the theater. It was ok. I still really enjoyed the movie.

Then just yesterday I felt like trying on my wedding dress, just to see if it still fit. I asked my mom where it was and found it upstairs in our attic, shoved into a plastic bag. We hadn't quite gotten around to putting it away nicely, so it was a little wrinkly. I tried it on and amazingly it fit.

We couldn't find the veil. It's hiding somewhere. Probably shoved in a plastic bag in the attic.

Oh the wrinkles.
And of course the purple shoes.

We also got the cake out from the freezer today. It got a little smooshed over the years. It was still yummy though.

3 Countries in -3hours

2008-08-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Our last days in New Zealand were bittersweet. It was sad to leave all our new friends, but it was nice to get back to family and friends back home. We met so many wonderful people that we will never forget. Thank you all for your kindness and love. It was an amazing experience that we will always cherish. And cell group, we absolutely love the scrapbook.

We made one last trip to the Mount before we left. It was a beautiful sunny day.

The next day we drove to the airport in wind and rain. After checking and just barely getting all our luggage successfully through security, we stopped at a few stores to stock up on L&P before the flight. We bought three 20 oz. bottles and shoved them into our already too heavy carry-ons. The flight was only delayed an hour and soon we were on our way home. Our flight took us to Los Angeles where we would have to go through security again and recheck all our luggage and then to Vancouver where we would have to go through more security again. I think our total flying time came to 15 hours. My mom, sister-in-law, Jen, and her 14 month daughter, Samantha, were waiting at the door with a nice big sign that said, "Welcome Home Dave & Tara." Samantha hadd helped Jen paint it. They felt the need to wave it around as much as possible. :) It was a nice welcoming home.

Dave's 25th

2008-07-22T02:33:00.000-07:00

That's right, Dave is younger than me. I'm such a cradle robber. :) Anyways, it was Dave's birthday on July 17th. I tried to make it special for him. In the morning I made blueberry pancakes. I had forgotten to get more maple syrup so Dave made some really yummy blueberry syrup. After breakfast we headed off to Matamata for a tour of the original Hobbiton movie set from Lord of the Rings. It was so much fun. We had a great tour guide who was tried to be funny, which made her funny and told us lots of interesting trivia and facts.

The hundreds of sheep that were already on the farm did not look "Hobbiton" enough, so they brought sheep with black faces from the states. If you remember in Lord of the Rings, at the beginning where Frodo is sitting by a tree and Gandalf rides up in a cart, the big tree on the left is where they shot that scene.

Here is a closer look at the tree. Can you see the resemblance?

The road in this picture was constructed by the New Zealand Army in order for equipment and crew to reach Hobbiton.

Welcome to Hobbition.

It's kind of dark, but the large tree on the right side of the picture is where Gandalf rides into Hobbiton and the kids come running out asking him to shoot off a few fireworks.

The bottom right area of the photo is where they built their specially grown garden with chemically enhanced plants to make them bigger and better. They purchased a green house in Auckland to grown all their vegetation and then flew the plants down to Matamata.

I'm a hobbit. I might actually even be too tall. That's right, me...too tall. Ha!

Dave would never been cast as a hobbit.

The famous "party tree". This is the tree where they had Bilbo's birthday party.

The Party Tree in all it's glory.

There were a total of 37 hobbit holes when they filmed, but only 17 were preserved afterward.
The famous Bag End. Which is the only Hobbit hole you can enter. All the rest are fake.

The lake that the bridge was built across.

It's kind of hard to see, but there are red markers where the bridge was built and yellow markers where the bar was. I forget what the blue markers were for.

This picture shows the bar and part of the bridge on the right from when they filmed.

While filming Hobbiton scenes, Peter Jackson lived in one of the neighbors houses. They had to sign a contract saying they could not tell anyone he was living there. How cool would that be?!

The party tree was very large. We were told the Alexander's (the owners of the farm) had planned on cutting down the tree at one point, but the little boys said they should keep as nice place for the sheep to get out of the sun. Good thing they kept it.

One more look at the lake.

This hill is where Sam's house had been built. It was turned back into a hill later.

So little.
It was so green. Because we came during the winter it was incredibly green and lush. When they filmed the Hobbiton scenes for the movie, they had planned it during the summer and New Zealand was experiencing the worst drought in 14 years, so they built an underground irrigation system under the areas of the pasture that would be filmed.

Our guide told us that they have a lot of people come dressed up as elves, hobbits, Gandalf, etc. One time a 7 foot Germany man came dressed as a hobbit and said he wouldn't leave because this is where he belonged. It took them until 7pm to get him to finally leave.

This is what a hobbit hole looks like if they wouldn't update the painting and so forth. But they have to call in the original makers of the hobbit holes to do all the repainting and reparing to keep it authentic.
The party tree and the green grass area where the tent, tables and chairs were set up for Bilbo's party.
The have not been contacted yet about whether they will film there or not for the next installment of the Lord of the Rings series.

Inside Bag End.
The famous circle doorway.

Before and during shooting there was a no fly ban placed within 500m of the area in order to keep the secrecy. If you were caught flying over the area, your pilots license would be taken away and no more flying for you.

They cut down an Oak tree near Matamata where each branch was numbered and chopped, then trasported and bolted together on top of Bag End. Artificial leaves were imported from Taiwan and individually wired onto the dead tree.

Dave's legs seem to have gotten shorter.

After the Hobbiton tour they had a sheep shearing demonstration. I had never seen this done before. I was the only one in the room. Isn't that little sheepy so adorable?!

He just sat there.

Getting a haircut.
I think he was a little embarrassed.

And then we got to bottle feed the lambs.

Hehe.
One last look.

After Hobbiton we drove out to Katikati to go on a walk. I thought I was taking Dave on a walk he hadn't been on, but apparently he had already done this one with his friend Andy. But anywho, on the way there we got a flat tire. Gutted! But we were able to get it changed and hiked the short trail. At the end was a very large Kauri tree. It is a large native tree to New Zealand that sheds it bark therefore keeping parasitic plants from accumulating around the base.

The tree is this wide!

This is a picture Dave took of the tree when he was there before. So much for surprising him with a fun new hike adventure.

After that we went to town and had dinner at the Horny Bull. We shared a fajita plate for two. It was delicious. I was able to get him a free piece of cake for his birthday. Little did he know I had a huge birthday cake waiting at home for him as well.

The cake box was just so pretty I had to take a picture of it.

Beforehand, I had arranged for our friends to meet at our house and surprise him. When he walked through the door and turned on the light, they all yelled "Dave" and had spelled out his name with their bodies. He was very surprised. During dinner I had been texting them, telling them where I had hid the key to get in and Dave kept asking, "Who are you texting?" I told him I was arranging a movie night with one of my friends. He found it strange that it took so many texts to get that figured out. Little did he know...

We played a game of "Super Charades" as our friend Alex has named it. Everyone writes down ten names. It could be a cartoon character, actor, singer, politician, etc. Throw them all into a bowl and mix them up. There are three rounds. The first round you just describe who the person is. Go around in turns until all the names have been guessed. Put them all back in the bowl and mix. Second round, you can only use one word to describe the person. It can be quite hard if you just say, "blonde". Put all the names back in again. Third round, you have to act out the person. We all had a blast. After that we ate cake and ice cream and ended the night. Happy Birthday Dave!